It is 1751, Alexander Ashbrook wishes to pursue his love of music against his father’s wishes, Mrs Milcote wishes for her daughter to marry well, Meshak wishes for his Angel and mothers of unwanted babies hand them over to Otis Gardnier, the Coram Man, wishing them to be cared for at the Coram Foundling Hospital.

After last year’s successful production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream Tring School is staging this exciting and moving play based on true events. The play weaves music and a vast array of characters through a particularly dark time in our social history.

Some very lucky Yr 8 pupils were given the chance to take over the running of the Tring Natural History Museum as part of the National Takeover Day. The day sees organisations across England open their doors to young people to take over the adult roles and to gain an insight into the world of work. The students were allowed to run the reception, help out in the gift shop, search for pests & even handle some of the exhibits.

Rubbish was the topic of conversation for the Yr 7 students as they were treated to a workshop promoting anti littering and chewing gum disposal. The school is currently working towards the Green Flag Eco Award which involves the whole school being more aware of re-usage, sustainability, reducing the schools emissions and a lot more. Next week the Eco Captains are leading assemblies to raise awareness of the award and also reveal plans to build a greenhouse made from recycled plastic bottles as part of an initiative to create a school allotment to grow fruit and vegetables.

Earlier this week, Tring School welcomed David Dein, John Motson and Dan Jones to come and speak to me and over 100 other fortunate students. During the presentation, David discussed his personal role in forming the Premier League which I took a particular interest in as I am a huge football fan. David is a highly versed guest speaker and was therefore able to translate key learning experiences in football and relate them to many other aspects, in particular many links were made to how we apply such lessons to our school work and hobbies. Therefore, this talk was particularly appealing to me; whilst also being gripping for those who weren’t as keen on football. This is because David gave us an insight into the life of a top flight football manager and the ways in which they can motivate the millionaire footballers they manage; closely linking to motivational factors and non-monetary benefits explored in Business Studies.

Throughout the talk, David enlightened us with several crucial qualities that are required in the business world that would help each of us in the quest to be the best we could in our chosen field. Among these skills were hard work, vision and courage, which David informed us were essential when aspiring to be successful. Personally, I thought this was inspiring to hear from someone who has achieved so much for football and been so successful. In addition to this, David added that teamwork is a vital factor in a business and it is pivotal to take pride in your work.

Furthermore, we were also told about the qualities required to be a successful sportsman. The most important qualities were behaviour and attitude which are skills which are essential in all walks of life. It was hard-hitting to hear some stories from David of people whose dreams of becoming a professional footballer were squandered as a result of them lacking the right attitude.

At the end of the presentation, we were given the opportunity to ask questions of Dan, John and David. Hearing John Motson’s voice in real life was a great experience and was just as I’d remembered it from the countless hours of watching Match of the Day!

On the whole, it was a humorous, informative and engaging presentation and I will take a lot away from it; as I’m sure will all the students who attended. We were very fortunate to have this opportunity to listen to such influential figures in the Premier League setup and successful businessmen in their own right, so a big thank you to Mrs Golla and Mrs Foxcroft for making this possible!

Three influential figures from the world of football shared their stories with a packed hall of captivated Tring School pupils. David Dein, former vice-chairman of Arsenal Football Club and the Football Association, explained how the Premier League has grown. He was joined by legendary commentator John ‘Motty’ Motson and football accountant, Dan Jones – a former deputy head boy of Tring School. It was a real coup for the school to assemble the trio and the students listened attentively to words of advice on how to be successful. “It was fantastic,” said Year 12 pupil Will Darraugh. “The talk was enjoyable and interesting. “It was about being the best you can be – not just in football but in life.” Katy Colwell, 16, added: “I wasn’t actually expecting to enjoy it but it was very interesting.” Mr Jones, who was in Ashridge house, left the school in 1988. He now leads Deloitte’s work in sport around the world. “It’s very strange to be back,” he said. “It’s good to be back but strange. I’ve been meaning to go to one of David’s talks and when he said here, it made the choice for me.” Dein’s talk covered business, technology and how to motivate millionaires but he applied psychological principles such as ‘sticking your neck out’ and ‘having a vision’ to life in general. He explained how behaviour and attitude are crucial for any budding pro and how striving to be the best was the motivation for developing the Premier League into the global entertainment brand it has become. Motson, who lives in Little Gaddesden, commentated on hundreds of football matches, including all major tournaments, from 1971 until 2008. He continues to cover games for Match of the Day and appears on BBC Radio 5 Live. Asked about what it takes to carve out a career in sports broadcasting, Motson said: “A lot of people contact me about it and I always say it takes a lot of persistence and perseverance. It can be done but there’s no easy way of doing it.” He said his favourite match to commentate on was England’s 5-1 victory over Germany in 2001 although he admitted describing it live as ‘the best win since the war’ wasn’t his smartest remark.

https://tring.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Capture.jpg576775Helen Robertshttps://tring.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/newlogo3.pngHelen Roberts2016-11-16 17:57:572017-10-09 10:48:44Class act as Motty joins influential figures to talk football and business at Tring School

Two Year 10 students from school entered the Dacorum Rotary Young Chef of the Year competition, held at the Hemel Hempstead School. Laura & Maddison both initially submitted their menus which were then selected to go through to the final stages of the competition.

Competing against other schools in Dacorum, Tring School was the only school with two students reaching the finals. The theme of the competition was to design a health menu, which both girls did, but it was Laura who cooked her way to become the overall winner of the competition. She cooked for the judges chicken and sweet potato curry with flat breads followed by zingy orange & lemon syllabub. She received a £50 voucher and both Laura and the school will be presented with a trophy. Laura will now go on to the regional stage of the competition.

https://tring.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/P1000911.jpg20481536Lowri Evanshttps://tring.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/newlogo3.pngLowri Evans2016-11-16 11:37:182016-11-16 11:40:02Dacorum Rotary Young Chef of the Year Competition

46 students from KS5 Creative Media Production went on a day trip to Sky Academy’s Career Hub in west London. They had a tour of a live broadcast studio and saw the frantic Sky Sports newsroom in action, as well as having the opportunity to pitch their ideas to the rest of the group for a new drama.

The students also took a virtual tour of some of the careers available within the company, and met Spencer Fearon – a sports pundit and ex-champion boxer – who gave a great motivational (and hilarious) speech about their future.

They also had the chance to work on an extended project within three ‘challenge’ areas – sports, news & entertainment, before being shown Sky’s programme of work experience and their apprenticeship schemes.

Student, Sam said of the day “A very inspiring morning. It gives a real insight into the workings of media and all the key jobs and work experiences as well as apprenticeships that this includes. This day not only inspired me but gave me something to aim for and look forward too”

We hope the day opened a few eyes and gave them some idea of where they might see themselves in the future; we will certainly be taking some of the things we have learned back to the classroom!